Superman
by picturebookgirl
Summary: -"I can't be superman and save you..." -she was the beautiful complication to his near perfect life. he really should stay away from her but he can't; she was his illicit drug will eventually break down his heart. AU. R/R please :D
1. preview

_i can't be superman/and save you, save you..._

--

**his life was sweet. he had it all.**

**but, every story must have a complication.**

_If i promse you to never let go..._

**she was a mess.**

**but he didn't care. he reached out to her.**

**though his girlfriend does.**

_i'm only keeping you alive..._

**even though she said she didn't want his help, he still did.**

**and broke his own heart in the process.**

_I could still save you..._

--

**Starring:**

**-cam fisher- **_the resident good guy_

**-claire lyons- **_the girlfriend_

**-alicia rivera- **_the bad girl_

**-josh hotz- **_the playboy millionaire_

--

_**-superman (save you)-**_

Coming to a computer screen near YOU.

_**Yeah I know that was lame... but I'm a little rusty, 'kay?**_

_**Review! :D**_

_**SkyexHIGH**_


	2. lyingisthemostfunagirlcanhave

**Superman (Save You)**

* * *

_**A**_licia _**R**_ivera slammed the empty shot glass onto the grotty wooden counter, where it landed with a convincing _thump_. She wiped her bloodred lined mouth with the back of her bare arm, smudging her expertly applied lipstick before turning to her older companion, the notoriously handsome Josh "successful stock broker by day, playboy by night" Hotz.

Her kohl lined dark brown eyes spied the filled shot glass that Josh hadn't yet touched. She unsteadily waved her perfectly manicured finger towards the general direction of the glass before slurring out "Are you going to drink that?"

Her companion shook his head a no and Alicia didn't have to be told twice. She picked up the glass, the dark brown liquid sloshing around before she emptied the contents into her gaping mouth. For the eighth time that night, she banged the shot glass down onto the dirty counter.

"So," Josh spoke up, slipping an arm around Alicia's tiny waist "do you want to, you know, get out of here?"

Alicia giggled and nodded, feeling her head spin a little. She rose from her stool, teetering on her six-inch bloodred Prada heels. She let Josh guide her out of the musky club and into his sleek silver Porsche that was parked a block away.

"Where are we going?" Alicia giggled, feeling the full effect of the alcohol she had consumed during the night. Josh opened the passenger door, where Alicia collapsed in, still giggling. She was utterly and completely wasted and looked underage but he didn't care. She had a great rack and looked like she was up for anything.

Josh slipped into his own seat, the question completely forgotten by the two of them. But it didn't matter; they both knew where they were going, anyway.

* * *

_**C**_ameron_** F**_isher groaned as his alarm forced him out of bed. After a quick shower and dressing into a pair of dark wash Diesel jeans and a no brand moss green jumper, he made his way downstairs, his black "so uncool it's cool" JanSport bag swinging with every step.

Just as he reached the dining table, he heard a familiar honk outside. Cam peered through a window and saw a light blue convertible Mini Cooper parked outside of his driveway.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, grabbing a bagel and a banana from the table "she's early."

Cam dashed out of the dining room, giving his mom a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing out the door. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, hoping that it didn't look too bad, before hurdling into the car.

"How many times do I have to tell you to use the door?" Claire Lyons, his girlfriend of almost a year, mock scolded, a smile on her pretty face. She leaned in and gave him a kiss before pulling out into the road.

No matter how much he hated having his girlfriend drive him to school and around everywhere, he had no other choice. His parents wouldn't get him a car until he was 18, even after offering to pay for it himself. None of his other friends who had cars lived as close to him as Claire did so she had to be his chauffer. Cam was a total masochist, and hated this arrangement. But Claire totally loved it.

One banana and half a bagel later, they reached Westchester Private High. Clare flashed her ID at the security guard at the gate before entering.

"God, I still can't believe how freaking paranoid the school is," Claire moaned as she drove up into the car park and into an empty parking spot. Cam just shrugged. He liked the sense of security.

Claire pulled up the convertible top before locking the car with a beep. Cam was behind her and slipped his arms around her small waist, kissing the back of her neck.

They walked in the building, his arm around her waist until they had to go their separate ways, Cam to English and Claire to Geography.

"See ya later, Claire Bear," Cam called out, giving her a crooked smile. Claire rolled her eyes playfully before blowing him a kiss.

* * *

_**A**_licia groaned as she discovered that she had a splitting headache. She pulled the covers over her head, trying to block out the sun rays that were streaming from the cracks of the blinds. But alas, the thin duvet was doing nothing.

Thin duvet? This could not be right. Alicia's duvet was thick, fluffy and... definitely not green.

She cracked her eyes open, as wide as she could manage before sending a jolt of pain through her head. She groggily surveyed the room before last night's events came rushing back to her.

She turned to her right and found that there was nobody there. Like many of her previous hook-ups, he had left her without even a goodbye and probably the hotel bill to pay. Alicia sighed and tried to prop herself up with her elbow but didn't manage as another jolt of pain, bigger than the previous, rushed to her head. She groaned and flopped back down.

Still under the thin duvet, Alicia extended out an arm and felt around for her oversized handbag. After finding it, she rustled around until she found some Panadol. She shook a couple out and swallowed both dry.

After a while, Alicia could feel the effect of the Panadol. She rose out of bed, ignoring the joint pain, and staggered into the bathroom. After a hot shower, she went to put last night's outfit back on. On the pile of clothes, she spotted a piece of paper atop it.

With only a towel around her, she unfolded the piece of paper and out flew a few large bills. Not the first time this had happened, Alicia picked up the bills from the floor and tucked it into the pocket of her black, skintight pants. She was about to throw away the paper when she realised that there was writing on it. This was definitely a first.

_Alicia,_

_I had fun last night. Sorry I had to leave so early but maybe I'll see you around._

_Cheers,_

_Josh H._

_P.S. Don't worry. The room's paid for._

Alicia clucked her tongue at the note and trashed it. After slipping into her clothes and dabbing on some makeup, she went downstairs, her stomach rumbling. She made her way to the breakfast buffet and saw that it was closed. She saw the clock atop the door, which read that it was already 12 in the afternoon.

Cursing, she made her way out of the hotel and looked around for a cafe of some sort to satisfy her hunger. But all she saw were some shady low class cafes that she would rather not be caught dining in.

Alicia was about to call the hotel's valet for her car when she realised that Josh had taken them to the hotel and that she had left her car back at the club. Alicia stood there in her red six-inch heels, feeling her headache creep back in again.

She pulled out her phone and flipped it open. Calling daddy to pick her up was out of the option; she remembered that he was on a big case today. She scrolled through her contacts list until she reached a name that she was sure could pick her up. She clicked on the green button and waited for him to pick up the phone.

* * *

_**C**_am had just slid into his assigned seat, his mouth still full of his lunch, when Madame Marquet entered the room, her full skirt swishing around her short, stumpy legs.

"Bonjour, la classe," her voice rang out as she made her way to her table.

"Bonjour, Madame Marquet," the class answered back.

Now that the greetings were done, Cam sat back in his chair at the back of the classroom and tuned out Madame Marquet's foreign ramblings. He discreetly took out his black Sidekick out of front pocket and saw that Derrick Harrington, a fellow soccer player who sat two seats away from him, had just sent him a text.

**DerrickH:** Dude, I swear Marquet's skirt used to be hanging as my Grandma's curtains.

Cam stifled back a laugh before tapping back a reply.

**CamF:** Lol ;p. And please tell me y u were lookin at her legs?

Cam smirked at Derrick's priceless expression. His face was beet red and he was frantically pushing buttons on his phone, probably to delete the text. Cam knew that Derrick liked elder women but Madame was pushing it.

Derrick had put his phone away and Cam was about to do the same when his phone suddenly rang, his inappropriate ringtone blaring across the classroom.

_Damn she's a sexy chick, a sexy chick..._

Now, it was Cam frantically, but discreetly, pushing all the buttons to make it stop. Luckily for him, the bell signalling it was next period rang so the class forgot all about the spectacle and started to pack up their things. His phone then stopped ringing and he let out a sigh of relief. He dropped his phone into his pocket and slung his bag over one shoulder.

After quickly exiting the classroom, Cam made his way into the nearest bathroom, since phones weren't allowed in or between classes. He flipped open his phone, and pressed speed dial 4. He knew exactly who had just called him before by the ringtone. She had programmed it into his phone so every time she called, that ringtone would blare out.

Cam brought his phone onto his ear. After the first ring, she had picked up.

"What do you need this time?"

* * *

_**I was sick and bored of homework so I thought I might just pop back on... like it so far? If you do/don't tell me so by REVEWING! :D**_

_**SkyexHIGH**_


	3. cuziwannabeforeveryoung

**chapter 2**

* * *

_-Cam brought his phone onto his ear. After the first ring, she had picked up._

"_What do you need this time?"-_

--

_**A**_ tinny giggle resonated in Cam's ear. "Don't be so rude."

Cam rolled his eyes. He could hear the muffled warning bell shriek outside the confines of the puke green walls.

"Look, 'Leesh, I gott-"

"Don't 'look, 'Leesh' me. I really need your help." Alicia's husky voice said.

"Again?" Cam sighed. He was officially 5 minutes late and on the verge of getting an after school detention.

"What do you mean again?" she asked, sounding aghast. "I've only asked you for a favour like-"

"6 times." Cam cut in. "And I've had 6 detentions to prove it."

There was a scoff through the phone. "You're worried about petty things like detentions when I'm here, starving to death, with no means of transport and wearing leather pants?"

"If I get one more de... wait, you're wearing leather pants?! Like, the ones that we bought for that costume party where we dressed up as bikers?!"

"Don't judge me! I had nothing to wear and besides, I heard that guys dig biker chicks."

Cam and Alicia laughed together, his deep chuckle contrasting against her tinkly laugh, not sounding anything like her husky voice. As the laughter died down, Cam gave another sigh over the phone and gave in.

"Ok. Fine, dammit. What's the address?"

Cam could almost hear Alicia smirking through the phone. Alicia gets whatever Alicia wants, and Cam was just another one of her helpless victims.

--

_**A**_licia sighed. Cam was so easy to wrap around her little finger. She's known him for ever and she could tell that he'd always had a little crush on her.

The "Three Musketeers", teachers use to call Cam, Claire and Alicia. Cam, the "Nate" in the threesome, didn't mind having two girls as his best friends. Sure, he always use to stare longingly at the soccer games being played at lunchtimes in elementary school when Alicia and Claire were playing jumprope or whatever but it changed in middle school; he became envy of the boys. By then, nobody cared about soccer games anymore. Having the two hottest girls in your grade as your best friends was the epitome of cool.

Claire was the "Serena" of the group. With her ethereal blond hair, huge azure eyes and "nice girl" attitude, she was popular among everyone, especially boys. But in the end, Cam was the one who snagged her heart.

Alicia should be the "Blair" of the group, but the only common she had with Blair was her deep chestnut brown hair. But unlike Blair, it was in long, loose waves and not in a short crop. She was the bad girl in the group, not at all caring about her grades. The only thing that was keeping her in school was her wealthy lawyer father, who had threatened to sue the school if she was ever treated unfairly. So far, Alicia should have been suspended 14 times, given 35 after school detentions and one strike away from expulsion if it weren't for her father.

Alicia riffled around her small, glittery purse, looking for a stray cigarette and lighter. She eventually found a Marlborough Light and lit it up with her small silver lighter she had purchased at an antique store. She took a deep drag, sighing with pleasure as she felt the nicotine kick in. She didn't dare take anything stronger in broad daylight.

She could have easily called a cab to take her to her car, but she liked having Cam unleash the rebel in him. He always said that he would escort her right back to school but they usually end up blowing the whole day off. She smiled to herself as she thought of the previous situations that had, in the end, turned into a big day out.

But her pretty smile faltered, as she thought of Claire. It used to be her and Claire Cam should be picking up right now. But now, ever since she became class president and captain of the cheerleading club, she had been hanging out with Alicia less and less. Now days every time Alicia had asked her if she wanted to go clubbing, Claire would always give her weird looks and give a curt no and walk away. Alicia had been hurt but after a while, she stopped trying.

Alicia sniffed disdainfully at the memory and pushed it out of her mind. She walked around the block and bought a large coffee from a nearby Starbucks to keep herself occupied. She knew that Cam was going to be at least half an hour, since this neighbourhood was on the other side of town.

After a while, she couldn't stand it anymore. She went back into the shabby hotel and made her way straight to the bathroom. Alicia barrelled right in, and locked the door behind her. She then hoisted herself up on the sink countertop and sat down.

With one hand, she unclasped her purse and unzipped a small pocket on the side. She then pulled out a little white baggie, some paper, a little straw and a little razor

With an expert hand, she untwisted the bag and laid the piece of paper on the countertop. She shook out some of the bag's contents onto the paper and with the razor, split it up into even little strips. She then slid her fingers around the straw and positioned it over one row. She took a deep breath in and-

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Alicia cursed. She threw down the straw, sending the powder astray on the paper. She searched her purse for the source of the beeping, her phone. After finally finding it, she jabbed the green button and bought it up to one ear.

"What." She snarled.

"Um, Leesh, where are you?"

Alicia closed her eyes and sighed. Cam really did know when to ruin moments.

"I'm in the bathroom. I'll be right out."

She clicked off and quickly picked the straw up. With a quick whiff, she ran the straw down the line. The back of her nose stung, but after a moment, the feeling was relieved and a wave of adrenalin washed over her body.

After finishing the rest off, she splashed her face with water and fluffed up her hair. After a quick swipe of lip gloss (cherry, Cam's favourite) and a touch up of mascara, Alicia pouted her redred lips into the hazy mirror.

She was ready.

--

_**C**_am, on the other hand, was in hell. Although he was used to sneaking out of school for Alicia, he still gets nervous about it.

First, he has to get through the guards at the door, which was easy enough. All he had to do was steal a leave pass from the office and forge a signature. The guard just lazily waved it away.

Now, he had to get through the gates of the school. This was much harder. You had to be accompanied by an adult if you were walking out of the school or if you were in a car, an adult had to be driving it. Since he didn't have a car, he didn't have to worry about the latter so much.

It was all about timing. He had to duck underneath the automatic bar and run out of sight from the guard box, all before the guard had time to realise what was going on.

Luckily (or unluckily) for him, the guard was sleeping that day. So with a beating heart, he amiably strolled through, ducking under the gate and nervously whistling a tune. Today's escape had been easier than the six he had done.

Cam scanned the surroundings one more time, just to make sure that nobody had seen him walk out. His heart slowed down considerably when he realised that nobody had seen. Not wanting to jinx his luck, he ran down the driveway that led out to the open world.

But little did he know that someone was watching his every move.

--

_**C**_laire squinted at the figure that had just walked out of the school grounds. He was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans. It looked exactly what...

...Cam had been wearing that morning.

Claire gritted her teeth in anger and frustration. She had known about him ditching school to help out Alicia. She had even had a talk with him about it, just a few weeks ago, when he had had his sixth detention for ditching school, and she told him that she didn't like him hanging out with Alicia because she was a bad influence. And out of anyone, Claire knew that she knew it best.

And even after all this; he was still ditching school for her. Cam had even sworn that he would never do it again because he didn't want to sabotage his place in the soccer team.

Claire didn't get it. Why did Cam like Alicia so much? Even when they were younger, Claire could see that he was a little infatuated by her. Whenever she and Alicia were squabbling, he would almost always immediately back up Alicia and only after glaring at him would he then compensate and be on both sides.

But it didn't matter now. In the end, he chose her, not Alicia. She didn't have anything to worry about. She was Claire Lyons, captain of the cheerleading squad, class president and soon to be valedictorian. Alicia Rivera was just a little black smidge in the past and she was nothing on her.

So why does she feel like throwing up now?

--

_**TGIF! Well... for us here in the bottom of the world anyway... :D. you want to make my week by reviewing....?**_

**_Question... what are you're worst/best subjects? personally, my best is probably maths and my worst is social studies (at least i don't have to take that anymore!)_**

**_SkyexHIGH_**


	4. withyouinyourwornoutjeans

**chapter 3

* * *

**

_Alicia Rivera was just a little black smidge in the past and she was nothing on her._

_So why does she feel like throwing up now?_

--

"_**F**_inally," Cam grumbled good-naturedly from the back of the taxi seat "you're here."

Alicia slid in next to him and dug her bony elbow in his side, causing him to yelp in pain. "What do you mean, 'finally'?"

"I've been waiting here for ages! And the meter's going up." Cam whined, rubbing his sore side.

"I have money." Alicia scoffed, not looking at all bothered at the ridiculous price the meter was flashing. She slammed the door shut and asked the driver to take them back to Roma, the club she was at the night before.

The cab driver dropped them off and after paying and tipping him generously, it zoomed off into the distance. The club that was packed to the rafters with beautiful people just mere hours ago had been transformed into just another nondescript building on just another nondescript road. The flashing lights and red velvet ropes were long gone, though it was not long until it was going to go up again.

Cam didn't get it. He didn't get Alicia's lifestyle of drinking, partying and hooking up with randoms. He, personally, liked the comforts of boundaries and he was quite uncomfortable that Alicia didn't have any boundaries. But he pushed that aside, purely because he loved spending time with her.

"So," Alicia spoke up when they had entered the road "I would take you to this awesome new club that had just opened, buuuuut... it's too early. So, where do you normal people usual go in broad daylight?"

Cam laughed. This was why he liked being with her so much.

"Well, there's the mall and the cine-"

Alicia yawned, tipping her head back and letting her hair fly in the wind. The convertible top was down on the car and Cam was having a hard time keeping the visors that he had randomly found on his seat on the bridge of his nose.

"Nah. That's boring."

They drove for a little while longer until they found a row of quirky looking shops on the side of the street. Alicia pulled over the car and parked it.

"Come on," Alicia said, hopping out of the car "let's check some stores out."

After inserting some quarters into the parking machine, they ambled with their arms linked, up and down the rundown street. Alicia entered a few of the shops, but came back out empty handed. They then saw a little candle shop and entered, just because Alicia liked the smell of the shop.

While Alicia was browsing, Cam checked out the back of the shop to see if there was anything more interesting than candles. He reached the counter and saw a little basket of cute silver charms. He picked up a small dove and with closer inspection, he saw that it had a small olive branch in its mouth.

"It's the symbol for peace," an old voice croaked behind him. Startled, he dropped the charm back into the basket and whipped his head around at the source of the voice.

"People think that owning it will help them make peace with addictions and vices that they have." The voice belonged to an ageless looking old woman, with a purple shawl tied around her head. She had a wrinkly olive face and curly grey hair peaking out of the shawl. Cam saw that her eyes were a startling grey colour.

"Does it work?" Cam asked with curiosity laced in his tone. But the old woman just smiled, deepening the wrinkles around her eyes even more.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Cam squinted at her but she didn't say anything else. He saw Alicia coming behind them with a cheeky smile on her face. She brought her arms up as if to scare the woman but before she could do anything, the woman turned around and smiled at Alicia, before shuffling around her and goes behind the till and through a door of stringed beads to the back of the shop.

"Let's go," Cam said, motioning his head towards the door.

"Yeah, this store's kinda creepy anyway."

After browsing a few more odd shops, they stopped to have lunch. They bought some burgers and fries and ate them at a nearby park, though you could hardly call it that. They alternated throwing crumbs at some sad looking birds that were bathing in a murky green pond and laughed as Cam hit one straight in the head.

"Why do you do that?" Cam asked after a while. They had finished their burgers and were lying down on a reasonably unpolluted patch of grass beneath a huge shady oak tree, her head on his chest. Alicia could feel his rhythmic breathing as her head went up and down and up and down in time with the process that was keeping him alive.

"Do what?"

"You know, twitch your hands so much?"

Alicia sighed and rolled her eyes but didn't think much of it. He didn't know that she used, did he? If he found out and told the school, she would be immediately expelled, no matter how persuasive Daddy was.

"I don't know. Why?"

"You never used to do that. It's weird seeing you have a new habit. I don't know what to make of it."

"Does it really matter?" Alicia's toned lowered and Cam could sense that it was getting tense.

"Oh, sorry. It was just an innocent question." Alicia relaxed. Damn, why did Cam have to be so observant sometimes?

"Yeah."

They sat like that for a little while longer, his rhythmic breathing lulling her to a deprived sleep. Her thick mascara-ed eye lashes threatened to fall, fall, fall...

"Alicia. Wake up. Wake UP!"

"Mngfdh." She groaned and felt someone shaking her awake. How long had she been asleep for?

"I have to get back to school for end of day role check!" Cam hissed, looking panicked. She looked at her phone. It was 2.10 pm.

"Role check's at quarter to three and if I miss this one I'm screwed." Cam groaned and raked his fingers through his inky black hair, something he did when he was nervous or frustrated. Alicia sighed.

"Fine. Come on; let's get you back to school."

Silently, the mismatched couple, him in his flat black Converse and rugged jeans and her in her highest red heels and leather pants, trailed back to where Alicia parked the car. She was surprised that it hadn't gotten towed or ticketed, since the machine ran out of minutes quite a while ago.

The ride back to the school was quiet. The pair hardly spoke and if they did it was only because the occasional bland question was asked. The convertible top was pulled up and the radio blasted through the shattering silence.

When they reached the school, though, it was a completely different story. They were getting closer and closer to the school gates and there was no way they could get through without having to show a signed school note and some ID.

"What are we going to do?" Cam asked. But Alicia just smirked.

"Leave it to me."

At the gates, the guard saw Alicia's car approach and immediately told them to stop.

"Hi, I'm just here to drop off my son?" Alicia winked, her sultry voice taking over. With one flash down her top, the guard readily let them through.

They waited a few metres before completely dissolving into laughter. Alicia had to even pull over, because she couldn't take it.

"Oh my God, you're my mother!" Cam managed to gasp out between a roll of laughter. "For one, you look nothing like me!"

"Oh man, I'm so making you my child on my Facebook family!" Alicia giggled. "Did you see how big the guard's eyes went when I flashed him? What a douche."

Cam went silent. Alicia noticed this turned.

"What?"

Cam stayed silent for a few more minutes. Alicia just shrugged and pulled the car back into the driveway. She parked the car into an empty parking slot and turned the engine off.

"I don't know, you using your body like that, it makes me uneasy."

Alicia sighed and scratched the back of her neck. "Look, Cam, don't judge me-"

"I'm not judging you. I just said I didn't like it."

"No, Cam, hear me out. I don't know why I do it, ok? It's just a game I like to play. I guess it gives me an adrenalin rush or something. Something to occupy my time."

Cam started at her coldly. "And adrenalin rush. Flashing gives you an adrenalin rush. You should try bungee jumping or something if you want an adrenalin rush! Why do you have to inflict pervy looks on yourself?" His voice was getting louder and louder.

"Cam-"

"And if you want to occupy your time, maybe you should start turning up to your classes for once."

"Cam. That's not fair. You know that I hate school." Alicia furrowed her perfectly shaped eyebrows at the dashboard in front of her.

"Yeah, well you can't keep running away from it you know." Cam said harshly. After a moment of silence he spoke back up.

"Look, Alicia, we've had this talk so many more times before. We both know what I'm going to say next so I'm just going to spare you the misery of you listening to it again. I guess my little pep talks haven't really sunk in."

"Cam."

He undid his seatbelt and opened the car door. Before he walked out, he turned back to Alicia.

"Thank you for the ride and the money for the taxi. It's been... nice."

And with that, he walked out of the car, with his bag slung over one shoulder and his opposite hand in his pocket.

"Cam. Cam!" Alicia poked her head out of the car and called out after him, but he was too far away. She ducked back in and slammed shut the door to of the passenger's seat.

"Screw him," Alicia muttered, re-glossing her lips. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her massive contacts list before dialling a number. After the third ring, the person picked up.

"Hey, babe. So, you free tonight?"

--

_**Another chappie up...and I can't believe how far behind nz is to the rest of the world... i mean Fritos and Doritos have just landed our shores... and TiVo came just not long ago... o.O jeesh, i mean, i've been reading about all these things in books and nearly all my friends are just like, what is it?**_

_**Question: what can't you guys live without? I can't live without music, MSN, skittles and reviews (hinthint)**_

_**SkyexHIGH**_


	5. stolensweethearts

**dedicated to dez, tess, mersaydez, ericka and allie. 'cuz i seriously need to dedicate something to you cool people (:**

* * *

**chapter 4**

**

* * *

**

"_Screw him," Alicia muttered, re-glossing her lips. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her massive contacts list before dialling a number. After the third ring, the person picked up._

"_Hey, babe. So, you free tonight?"_

_**C**_am snuck into the back of the classroom and seated himself on a corner desk. Thankfully, the person doing roll check looked half blind and was probably half deaf, from the look of his age. The rest of the class were texting, listening to their iPods or just gossiping.

"Cameron Fisher?" The teacher called out. Cam marvelled at how he was thisclose to missing his name being called on the roll.

"Yeah." He answered back, waving his arm around. The teacher looked through the top of his specs and nodded.

"Hey, dude, where were you at gym class today?" Derrick Harrington, one of his soccer mates, slapped him on the shoulder.

"Uh, I had a dentist appointment." Cam lied, surprised at how naturally sounding it was coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah, right." Derrick said, looking a little unconvinced. "Sure you weren't ditching school with that slutty Alicia chick again? 'Cuz you know what Coach said; and we sure need your fancy footwork in the team this year, man."

Cam didn't even bother to stand up for Alicia like he usually did. He was much too tired.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He gave a wan smile before turning around and start to rifle through his bag, as if looking for something. That got Derrick of his back.

After pretending to read his chemistry text book for a while, the bell signalling the end of the day rang, startling him out of his trance of moles and chemical bonding. He quickly picked the book of the desk and stuffed it in his bag, quickly escaping the classroom before anyone could talk to him.

Cam quickly went to his locker and swapped the books he would need for his homework. He made a mental note to himself to ask some of his friends in the classes he had ditched if he could borrow their notes. He was already a tad behind and didn't want to start failing any classes.

He slammed his locker shut and blinked as he came face to face with Claire.

"Where were you at lunch today?"

"Um, I was at the dentist." Cam made sure he used the same excuse.

Claire stared at him, with her hands on her hips and a sceptical look on her face. "Yeah, right. You're teeth are perfect."

"No! It was just for a check up anyway. Thankfully there's nothing wrong with them." Cam gave an awkward smile, showing all of his pearly whites.

Claire frowned. "You weren't hanging out with Alicia again, were you?"

"Of course not! Why would you think that?" Cam coughed nervously at the thought of Claire finding out.

"I saw you, Cam, walking, or should I say SNEAKING, out of the school when you should have been in chemistry class."

"What? I wasn't sneaking out!" Cam yelped. He took a deep breath to calm down and started again. "Look, as I said before, I had a dentist appointment and I had to leave because of it, okay?"

Claire sighed. She knew she wasn't going to get anything out of him this way. "Fine."

"Look, Claire, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was lying to you." Cam said, feeling really bad. But he smiled and leaned into her, so they were practically touching foreheads. "But are we still on for our date tonight?"

All suspicions melted away from Claire's mind and she smiled back at him. "Of course." She answered, and kissed his lips.

As they were kissing, Cam ignored his niggling conscience. He'll make it up to Claire. At their date tonight, he'll be sweet and nice and 100 percent all-for-Claire so she would have nothing to be suspicious about.

Cam Fisher was the kind of person who never backs down from challenges.

* * *

_**I**_t was eight o'clock at night and Alicia was getting ready to go out. One more swipe of Chanel's Oh So Red and a last coat of mascara and she was ready. She emptied the contents of her black leathery purse into a small silvery one and fluffed up her hair in front of her full length 3-way mirrors.

She ran down the stairs and grabbed the pair of silver stilettos hanging on the banister that she had been looking for the last past hour and jammed them on her delicate feet. She teetered-ran carelessly down the impressive marble hallway, scratching the polished surface as she went along. Without saying any goodbyes, she opened the large wooden door and slammed it shut behind her, the sound resonating behind her.

A yellow cab was waiting for her, with its engines rearing. She slid into the cracked leather seat and leaned forward to speak into the little intercom.

"The Lounge on 53 Benjamin Street, please."

The cab driver merely nodded before taking the cab out of park and zooming off into the night

* * *

_**J**_ust a few streets away, Cam was getting ready for his date with Claire. Once again, she was going to be the one picking him up.

He surveyed himself in the mirror, at his average reflection. He thought he looked ok and his shirt was a clean one. Claire was going to approve.

Cam heard the familiar honk of his girlfriend's car and walked out of his room, slamming the poster covered door behind him. With a reassuring pat at his back jeans pocket to make sure he had his wallet with him, he said goodbye to his parents in the living room and walked out of the front door, jamming his Converse on his feet.

"Hey," Claire smiled, as he opened the door and seated himself in the front seat.

"Hey yourself," Cam answered and kissed her smiling lips. He could taste the sickly sweet grape gloss she liked to wear so much. He hated grape.

"Well, we'd better get to dinner now if you want to catch the 9 o'clock movie," Cam mumbled into her gaping mouth. Claire finally let go and got the car out of park.

Cam turned the radio on and found his favourite indie rock station. An Arctic Monkeys song was currently playing and he leaned back into the seat to enjoy the song, patting himself on the back for killing two birds with one stone since a) he and Claire both loved the Arctic Monkeys and b) it's never awkward with the radio on.

With an expert flick of the wrist, Claire changed the station to a Top 40 station where the high pitched voice of Justin Bieber filled the confinements of the car.

"You know, I want to live to see the movie," Cam joked as he changed the radio station back to the indie rock one.

"Yeah, well, and I want my ears to come out in one piece for the movie."Claire snapped as she changed the station, once again, just in time to hear the whiny end of Justin's song.

Cam frowned. "When did you start to prefer Justin Bieber to Arctic Monkeys?"

"I've always liked Justin Bieber."

"No, I remember you saying that Arcti-"

"No. I really, don't like them. Ok?"

Cam's frown deepened but he didn't pursue the subject. He always remembered that Claire liked the Arctic Monkeys; they had even sneaked out one night in middle school to attend a concert of theirs. They had gotten caught and Claire had been grounded for a month but she didn't care and she had even said it had all been worth it.

But now, saying that she prefers Justin Bieber (who, by the way, sounds like a girl) to Arctic Monkeys was weird. That was the type of thing Alicia would say.

Alicia. She was NOT supposed to be on his mind. Tonight was supposed to be all about Claire. And starting from now, it was. No matter what song he had to listen to.

The latest Katy Perry song blasted on next and Cam could do everything but cringe as Claire started to badly sing along to the already cheesy song. Claire might be a girl of many talents, but singing was definitely not one of them.

_It's all about Claire tonight, it's all about Claire,_ Cam chanted to himself as he grimacesmiled along to her singing.

Claire pulled up to a restaurant and Cam silently breathed out a sigh of relief. He quickly got out of the car and went around to the other side of the car to open Claire's door. He held out his hand and she took it. Together, they went into the restaurant, his guitar calloused hands holding Claire's soft, manicured ones.

They entered the restaurant and he smiled as a maître-d ushered them to a table. Cam felt his phone vibrate in his pocket but ignored it. Instead, he led Claire into his seat before taking his own. As a waiter gave them each a menu, Cam's curiosity got the better of him. Behind his oversized menu, he stealthily clicked a few buttons on his phone before opening the messages.

**AliciaR:** Look, I really hated leaving things the way we did. Come on down to The Lounge on 53 Benjamin Street and we can talk.

**AliciaR: **Cam? Did you get my message before? Come down to The Lounge. We need to talk.

**AliciaR: **Hello? Cam?

**AliciaR: **Fine. Whatever then. Don't say I didn't try.

Cam shut his eyes for a few seconds before deleting the text messages. He put the phone back into his pocket and tried to get back to the menu. _It's all about Claire, it's all about Claire._

"Are you ready to order?" A pretty waitress came to their table, armed with a pen and a notepad.

"Yes, we'll both have lemon iced tea and the chicken wrap, please." Claire said, smiling and shutting both her and his menus. Cam tried to say something (he hated the chicken wrap, it was so dry) but the waitress had already gathered their menus and walked off.

"Yes, Cam?" Claire asked sweetly. Cam huffed but didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. So he just grimacesmiled at her. _It's all about Claire, it's all about Claire._

"So, anyway, we were having a cheerleading practice today and like..."

Cam blocked out Claire's cheerleading rambling. This whole, _it's all about Claire_ thing was getting harder and harder by the second.

* * *

_**M**_eanwhile, Alicia was having the time of her life. In theory, anyway. A Lady Gaga remix was playing on the background and Alicia was moving her body to the pulsing bass.

She had texted Cam before, to apologize to him but so far, she had generated no reply. So she gave up trying and had fun instead.

She felt a hand snake around her waist and felt herself being pulled against a rock hard body. Alicia turned around and found herself nearly liplocking with Josh Hotz.

"Oh, hey." Alicia crooned. She let herself be led off the dancefloor and towards the direction of the bar. She was practically salivating; she could already taste the sweet cocktails on her tongue already...

"So. This is different. You calling me instead of me contacting you." Josh casually said, as he stirred the blue concoction with his green umbrella. "What made you do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I had fun last night." Alicia answered. _Or maybe I'm trying to get someone out of my mind._

"Well, I'm glad you called me. I certainly had fun last night," Josh smiled. Alicia faux-smiled, her red lips making a capital c-shape before taking a sip of her pink concoction. _Oh, I'm sure you did._

A few too many drinks later, Alicia was feeling déjà vu. She had her arms around Josh's shoulder and he was slowly kissing her neck. She really should be enjoying this, but for some reason, she didn't feel the rush as much.

_Maybe if I amp it up a little..._

"I'll be right back. You stay right here." Alicia pushed herself off his lips and made her way into the bathroom. She fell into the door and pushed it open. She started kicking all the stalls open, trying to find one that wasn't so grotty. She didn't really care if people saw her snorting it here but she'd rather do it behind a closed door.

With more force intended, she kicked open a what she thought was preoccupied stall. But instead, Alicia had accidentally kicked a preoccupied stall that had not been locked properly.

"Oi! What the hell was that for?" The girl shouted, as she fumbled to pull her super short skirt up. She stepped forwards so she was in Alicia's personal bubble.

"Sorry! It was an accident. Maybe next time you should, oh I don't know, lock the door?"

"Shut up, bitch face!" The girl spat and pushed Alicia on one shoulder, making her teeter on her unsteady heels.

Now, Alicia wasn't a very violent girl. But when someone provokes a fight with her, she does what every girl would do.

She took of her large doorknob-like earrings and fought back.

"So, that was a nice dinner, wasn't it Cammie." Claire crooned as they made their way down the row of legs towards the middle of the row. Cam had wanted to see Clash of the Titans but Claire had insisted on watching Eclipse. So, Cam had, obviously, let Claire choose the movie.

"Yeah. Sure was." He grumbled his hands full of popcorn and medium cokes (one diet, thanks). Claire finally found a seat she liked and sat down, helping him with the popcorn and coke. He sat down next to her, glad to have his hands free.

Just as he sat down, the cinema lights dimmed, signalling that the advertisements and trailers were going to start. He made himself comfortable and dipped his hand into the large popcorn tub, just to find it being swatted away by Claire.

"Not until the movie starts," Claire hissed.

"But it's basically started!" Cam argued back.

"Shhh! And it's technically not started yet."

_It's all about Claire, it's all about Claire, _Cam chanted in his head, as the buttery popcorn smell wafted up his nostrils, nearly intoxicating him. He had a weakness for all buttery things.

The dreaded advertisements finally came to an end and Cam eagerly dipped his hands in, grabbing a handful. Just as he was about to stuff the whole handful in his mouth, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

He quickly stuffed the whole handful in his mouth before taking out his cell. It kept vibrating, meaning that he was getting a call.

"Claire, I need to take it. Be right back."

"Mmm 'kays." Claire mumbled with her mouth full of popcorn and her eyes transfixed on the screen. Cam quickly made his way down the row, his cell still vibrating. He reached the end of the row and stepped onto the aisle and was about to answer the call when it stopped vibrating.

"Shoot." Cam cursed. He went out into the walkway of the theatre, where he was still technically inside the theatre, but not where the seats were. He flipped the phone open, the screen glowing eerily in the badly lit walkway.

The caller was an unknown one. Cam sighed and shut the phone, ready to make his way into the movie again, but as he was about to do so, his phone rang again. He picked it up on the second vibrate.

"Hello?"

"Omigod, Cam, it's me. Alicia."

Her voice sounded ragged and harried, as if she had just been running or something. He could also hear her slurring and rolled his eyes at the detail.

"Look, Alicia, I have to go now. I'm on a date with Claire an-"

"Cam," Alicia's voice sounded clearer now, more urgent "listen to me. I need your help. I need you to come bail me out. Of jail."

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**_Yo. Superspecialawesomely long chapter, because i've not updated. In ages. I feel superbad, but it's been crazybusy and school and life's just gotten in the way... anyway, just saying that I might/mightnot be updating any of my stories for a while. I'm sorry )): But review this chapter? :D_**

**_OH and if any of you guys have formspring, tell me the link or go on my page for mine. I like questions ((:_**

**_SkyexHIGH_**


	6. tillthemorningsunyou'remine

**dedicated to lisa, tash and dez for being my 600****th****, 700****th**** and 800****th**** question on formspring, respectively(: ilyguise. and also to dearXdarling for being such an awesome reviewer(:**

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**chapter 5**

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"_Cam," Alicia's voice sounded clearer now, more urgent "listen to me. I need your help. I need you to come bail me out. Of jail."_

_**I**_t took a few moments for the words to sink in. Bail her out? Of JAIL?

As crazy as Alicia was, Cam couldn't think of anything bad enough she would do to land her in jail.

"Can't you get your Dad to do that?" He said, trying sound calm and not at all bothered that he was talking to someone IN JAIL.

"Nah. He's overseas at the moment and it's nothing serious. I just need you to pick me up from the police station and sign a few forms, that all."

Alicia sounded all nonchalant about this; it had made Cam almost scared. How many times has she been in jail before?

Cam didn't want to leave the date since _it's all about Claire_! But if he didn't bail her out, then who else would? She didn't really have any other friends at school, since she doesn't attend half the time.

It took Cam a few moments to think it though.

"Cam? Are you still there?"

Cam sighed and shook his head. He couldn't believe he was doing this. "Fine. Where are you? I'll be there in a few."

Alicia squealed and he could almost hear her smiling. "I'm downtown, at the station at Benjamin Street. It's across that huge Beds 'R Us. You know, the one where we used to go around and sleep on all the beds?"

Cam smiled at the memory. When they were still known as the "Three Musketeers", they would used to go around stores and make mischief. One of the things they did was to see how long they could sleep on a bed at Beds 'R Us before getting kicked out. So far, their record was twenty two point two minutes.

Alicia could sense Cam thawing out at the memory and proceeded to prod him a little more. "Please? I totally owe you one."

Cam sighed. "You already owe me more than one. But this will be the last time."

"Of course!" Alicia said, the both of them knowing her statement this was the farthest thing from the truth.

"I'll be there in about 20. I need to get a cab, which you are so paying for."

Alicia scoffed. "Of course. That's no biggie."

Cam rolled his eyes. "See you in a few."

"Mmmhm. Be quick! I think some chick is trying to steal my shoes." Alicia commented before hanging up. Cam chuckled at how typical Alicia was being; she always had to have the last words. He hung up on the dial tone and slipped his phone into his pocket.

He went back into the cinema, with excuses flying through his head, some more creative than others. He decided to tell the truth. Or part of the truth anyway.

Cam reached his row and as quietly as he could, went back to his seat. Claire's mouth was agape, as she shovelled a handful of popcorn into the hole. He raised his eyebrows as he realised that she hadn't even comprehended he had left. This might be easier than he thought.

"Claire. Claire!"

"Shush." Claire mumbled with her mouth full of popcorn. "I'm trying to watch the movie here, Cam."

"I need to go. Someone needs my help."

"Yeah. Whatever. But be back soon." Claire's eyes never left the screen.

Cam shrugged and walked back down the row, apologising quietly to the people he had disturbed. As he walked out of the cinema, quietly thanking Alicia that he had an excuse to miss out on this horrific movie, he marvelled at how easy it was to leave, granted that Claire probably had no idea what was happening, being so struck upon the movie.

He walked up to the front counter and called a cab and about ten minutes later, it arrived.

"Benjamin Street police station, please." Cam cringed at how bad that sounded. But the cab driver didn't seem to care. He just did a little head nod before driving off.

Cam's right knee bobbed up and down. For some reason, he was nervous, though God knows why. Maybe it was because the meter was going up at an absurd rate (he swore the cinema company called the most expensive cab in town). Maybe it was because he was going to a police station for the first time.

Maybe it was because he was seeing Alicia. And he didn't know what to think about that, since the last time they met up it didn't end up very well.

The cab pulled up in front of the police station. He looked across the road and saw the huge neon sign for Beds 'R Us and knew that he was in the right place. Cam got out of the cab before he got a shout.

"Hey! You have to pay for the fare, mate!"

Cam had no cash on him, just a card. He grimaced at this situation.

"Look, my friend in there" he pointed into the station "has some money. I promise to pay you the fare when I get her bailed out."

As soon as the sentence poured out of his mouth, he knew that there was no way the cab driver was letting Cam go.

"Yeah right. I've heard that one before."

Cam blew his breath out before an idea came through his head. He took of his watch, a black Fossil he had gotten for his last birthday, and handed it to the driver through the window.

"You can keep this for now as insurance. I promise I'll come back with the money."

The cab driver looked at the watch sceptically, trying to figure out if the watch was a real Fossil or not.

"It's real. I promise."

The cab driver looked at Cam warily. "Ok, kid. But if you're not back in an hour, I'm leaving with the watch and I'm going to sue you."

Cam gulped but nodded. He turned around and walked into the police station. He was doing all of this for Alicia; she'd better appreciate it.

He immediately got struck with warm air. He walked up to the receptionist who was reading some trashy romance novel and chewing on what probably was a wad of gum made out of 5 pieces, from the noise it made when she cracked it.

"Um, excuse me." No answer. Cam tried again, a little louder. "ExCUSE me."

The girl popped her head up. "What?"

"Um, I'm here to pick someone up?"

The receptionist sighed and brought her Doc Marten-clad legs of the table. She then started to furiously type something on the computer.

"Name?"

"Cameron Fisher."

She typed it in. "Nope. Nobody here to be picked up under Cameron Fisher"

"Oh! It's Alicia. Alicia Rivera."

The girl looked up and glared at him. She clicked on the mouse a few times and typed Alicia's name in.

"Oh. Her. She tried to steal my shoes, that damn that chick. Let me get Constable Parris."

Cam nodded, pondering why on earth Alicia would want to steal such an ugly pair of shoes. But before he could get his light bulb moment, a man with a potbelly and what looked like a handlebar moustache gone wrong approached him.

"Here to pick up Alicia Rivera?" He asked gruffly. Cam nodded.

"Come down this way."

Cam followed him, not sure what to expect. Constable Parris then led him down a flight of stairs to... the dungeon? Cam gulped at the thought.

But he was wrong. It lead him down a hallway that looked like the hallway he had just passed; lined with doors through to offices or holding rooms.

Constable Parris then stopped in front of a door with the plaque that said "Constable Parris; Officer". He opened the door and saw Alicia sitting on a chair, with her too-short glittery dress, her silver heels dangling on her fingers and her hair in a big mess. But somehow, she still looked stunning.

"Cammie! Do you have a cigarette?" Alicia squealed as she saw him enter. She flung her bony arms around him and gave him a hug. Cam inhaled and got struck with her Alicia-scent; one of her Angel perfume, cigarettes and green apple shampoo. One that he loved so much.

"Alicia, what the hell did you do this time?" Cam asked sternly, unhooking her from himself.

"Nothing, I swear! The other girl conducted the stupid fight."

Cam looked at Constable Parris, who was yawning at the scene. "What did she do?"

"She was in a big brawl with another girl at that club downtown."

"Which she started," Alicia countered.

"Whatever. Can she go now?"

Constable Parris grabbed a few papers from his surprisingly neat table and handed it to Cam. "Just sign a few forms and pay the bail. Are you her guardian or member of family?"

"He's my uncle!" Alicia blurted. Constable Parris looked at him sceptically. "Really?"

"Um, yeah. From her mother's side."

It had been a long night for him, his coffee source had run out and he just wanted to get this annoying girl who had spat in his face out of his hair. So against his better judgement, he gave the papers to Cam to sign.

"Just sign here, and here and here and there. Pay at reception and you can go."

"Oh, thank you, Constable Parris!" Alicia gushed, kissing him on the cheek. The Constable was surprised at this change of heart, but let her kiss him anyway.

"Thanks. Here's the form to give at reception. Can you find your own way out?"

"Sure thing. Thank you, very much." Cam handed him the papers.

"Mhmm. Just please, keep her out of trouble." The Constable said, looking tired. He had sat down on his chair and had taken his hat off.

"I will try, sir." Cam answered wearily. He then led Alicia out of the room and to reception.

"Oh, it's you again." Doc Martens girl said. She took one look at Alicia and rolled her eyes. "You could do so much better."

"Excuse me?" Alicia bristled up. But before she could do anything, Cam had restrained her.

"Alicia. Please. It's nearly midnight, the cab driver wants his pay and I just want to get home. Can you just, not make trouble? For me?"

"You're alive because of him." Alicia faux-smiled at the girl before putting down her plastic card forcefully on the countertop. A few clacks of the keyboard later, they were finally out of the station.

"So." Alicia looked up at Cam, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Where do you want to go now?"

"Home. Now help me look for that damn taxi."

Alicia grabbed him by the shoulders. "What's gotten into you? Cam, it's not even midnight. The night's still young. Let's go out and have a drink or something!"

Cam stared Alicia in the eye. "Are you freaking serious?"

"Um, yeah!"

"You are un-fucking-believable. You were just at the police station and now you want to go out and do it all again?" Cam was furious now.

"That was nothing! It was an accident and it was the bitch's fault that I was in there anyway. I mean, she didn't even get caught! And I promise I won't drink. Or not that much anyway."

Cam sighed. He really couldn't take any Alicia drama, especially not now, when it was a school night and it was nearly midnight and, oh God, his parents are going to kill him if he didn't find that freaking cab driver.

"Alicia, just shut up. I want to go home now, and I'm taking you home too, whether you like it or not. Now help me look for that fucking cab driver."

"You used to be fun." Alicia grumbled, but surprisingly didn't try and get out of his grip. He finally found the taxi and pushed her into the cracked seats.

"Told you I'd come back. Can you take us to 34 Crosby Avenue, please?" The cab driver huffed and begrudgingly gave Cam his watch back.

"Hey! I thought you were taking me home?" Alicia said.

"I am. After he drops me off first; you're paying the fare." Cam said coldly.

Alicia went silent. She sat back in her seat as she watched Cam close his eyes and sighed. She really didn't mean to make trouble for him; it was just her nature.

She took out her phone and glanced at the newly cracked screen, happy that she had an excuse to buy a new one. It flashed **"Two New Message(s)"**.

**JoshH: **Babe, where are you?

**JoshH:** Alicia, I'm going to leave now. And once again, you don't have to worry about the tab; I've got it covered.

Alicia sighed as she deleted the two messages and turned her broken phone off. She looked out of the foggy taxi window and felt a pang of nostalgia as she saw that the night was just getting started for everyone else. But maybe Cam was right; she should stop having 'fun' all the time and focus on school.

She glanced at Cam out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had opened his eyes and was staring at her. She quickly averted her eyes the other way and started to draw smiley faces on the window.

"Alicia-"

"Cam, if you're going to lecture me about how I have to stop partying-"

"Um, no actually, I was just going to say that there's a bug in your hair."

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**_ok, so i technically should be studying for my last two exams (WHOOPEE!), but i had this chapter written out ages ago and I've been deprived from reviews for long enough. so, care to quench my thirst? ;p_**

**_SkyexHIGH_**


	7. itsnotallskinandbones

**dedicated to dreams of evermore for being the awesomest reviewer ever (:**

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**chapter 6**

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"_Um, no actually, I was just going to say that there's a bug in your hair."_

_**T**_he next morning, Alicia Rivera sauntered into the puke green walls of Westchester High, her heels clacking on the sticky linoleum floor as she tried to balance a tray of Starbucks coffee cups and a red, oversized what looked like oversized Prada (but could be Faux-da, though she was certainly rich enough to get a real Prada) handbag. She could feel everybody's eyes bore on her as she flicked her luscious, chocolate brown hair over one shoulder. But she ignored them; here eyes locked only on one person.

"Claire Bear!" She shrieked conspicuously, as she waved her free hand around in the air, her oversized handbag threatening to fall off her bony, spaghetti-strapped shoulder.

"Um, is that Faux-licia? What is _she_ doing at school?" Kristen Gregory, co-captain of the cheerleading squad and Claire's best friend not-so-quietly whispered in her ear. Dylan Marvil, her other best friend and other co-captain of the cheerleading squad just sneered her pretty fox-like face.

Alicia eventually reached them and gave the three an awkward bear hug. She then handed each of the three a steaming white cup complete with a huge grin on her face.

"Venti cappuccino for Claire and Kristen and a hot chocolate with extra sugar and marshmallows for Dylan." Alicia said, sounding pleased with herself as she sipped on her own cappuccino with both cream and sugar.

But Claire, Kristen and Dylan looked like someone just handed them a steaming cup of hot piss. They glared at Alicia, who was looking at them, expecting them to thank her.

"Ok. First of all, we all drink decaf soy lattes now, which you would know if you bothered to turn up to school. And second of all, do you really think you can saunter into these halls and think I'd accept you into the most prestigious clique in the school with open arms?"

Alicia's smiled had turned into a sad frown and she had stopped sipping her coffee; she had no taste for it anymore. There was now a little crowd around them; a bitch fight between Queen Bee and Resident Slut was one fight that they'd not want to miss.

But before Alicia or Claire could say anything else, Cam suddenly appeared in the middle of the two girls, huffing and puffing.

"What's going on here?" Cam asked.

"Oh, Cammie-kins!" Alicia said, holding out her arms to hug him.

"Don't you FUCKING dare touch him, you little BITCH!" Claire screamed, trying to reach Alicia. But Cam gripped her arms before she could do anything, spilling her cappuccino onto the floor.

"Claire. Stop this. Right now."

"Oh, so you're defending that little slut now?" Claire cried.

"Claire! Please!"

"Where are you last night, huh? You never came back to the movies, even when you said you were going to! You were probably out sleeping with that BITCH!"

Cam was sort of scared now; he'd never seen Claire act this mad, but he didn't want to let go of her arms. She was thrashing about, spilling brown drops of coffee everywhere.

"Claire, please. I- I, wasn't with here. I had a, um, family emergency. Just stop this, you're embarrassing us all."

"Oh, so now I'm EMBARRASING you? FUCK YOU AND YOUR LITTLE WHORE. WE'RE OVER. SO. FUCKING. OVER."

Cam's grip loosened and that was all Claire need to yank her arms out and splosh more coffee everywhere before storming off. Dylan and Kristen followed her, glaring at Cam and Alicia on their ways.

Cam shook his head as the bell rang, motioning it was time for homeroom. He turned around and saw that Alicia was crying. He draped his arm over her bony shoulders protectively before pulling her out of the now dispersing crowd.

He took her outside and made her sit on the cold, slab of stone.

"Drink." He said, pointing at the congealing coffee cup and draped his jacket around her shivering shoulder. She was heaving great sobs now, her mascara and eyeliner running everywhere, making her look like a cute racoon.

The warning bell rang, but he ignored that. Instead, they just sat there in silence, watching everything and nothing.

They sat there for what felt like hours (but was really only about 10 minutes) before Alicia had stopped sobbing and could finally say coherent words.

"I was trying to change. I wanted to try and stop partying and start attending school. I just wanted you to not be disappointed in me anymore."

Cam thought for a bit. "You really think you could saunter into school and things would be exactly how you left them?"

"I don't know. I guess I did"

Cam sighed, but didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Alicia, the worldly girl who knew how to drink her drinks in order, who was hooked up to multiple dealers, who knew the bouncers and owners to the best and latest nightclubs, could be pretty naïve sometimes.

So they sat there for a few more long moments before Alicia said that Cam should go back to class. They stood up and walked towards the front door of the school. Cam saw that Alicia wasn't going to come in.

"Aren't you going to come in?"

Alicia shook her head sadly. "I really don't think so."

Cam bit his lip. "Couldn't you try? Maybe for just one period?"

"One, I don't even know what class I'm supposed to be going to and two, I've missed every single day of school since the first day this year. I don't really think that coming back to school for one day is going to help me. I've pretty much dropped out."

Cam shook his head, but he knew that he wasn't going to convince her to come in. But her next few words shocked him.

"But I think I want to see if I can enrol in the local community college and get a degree in hospitality."

Cam brightened a little. Sure, it wasn't Yale or Harvard, but it seemed like Alicia wasn't going to throw away her life.

"That's great, Leesh! I'm glad that you really are trying to change."

"And I need to you to be there for me, to tutor me and be my moral support. Do you think you can do that?" Alicia bit her lip, hoping that Cam wasn't going to laugh and walk away.

Instead Cam smiled. "Of course. Anything for you."

"I knew I could count on you. I so owe you one."

Cam snorted. "Yeah, more than one, I think."

Alicia laughed her throaty laugh before she lightly touched Cam on the hand. "See you later, loser."

"Yeah. Later."

Alicia spun on her pointy heels before clacking down the marble staircase and out of the school, not even caring who saw her. Cam just kept looking on, until she was out of sight. Even then, he kept staring at the empty road, waiting for something; waiting for nothing, until the bell rang again, signalling second period classes had started.

* * *

**this chapter was more of a filler, since the last one was so blinking long! but this will satisfy you guys for now, yeah? hope you enjoyed this chapter;; you know what to do if you guys did(:**

_**- picturebookgirl.**_


	8. we'refinallyintertwined

**for lisa, my little geniushead. you updated, I updated (: and for dreams of evermore because you are actually so awesome for constantly reviewing this sad excuse of a story (:**

* * *

**chapter 7 **

* * *

"_Alicia spun on her pointy heels before clacking down the marble staircase and out of the school, not even caring who saw her. Cam just kept looking on, until she was out of sight. Even then, he kept staring at the empty road, waiting for something; waiting for nothing, until the bell rang again, signalling second period classes had started."_

_**C**_am stood on the covered porch as he nervously rang the doorbell, the sad bouquet of limp forget-me-nots in his sweat-slicked hands. He waited for the total of two seconds before he rang it again.

The cream door flung open, to reveal a very flustered looking Mrs Lyons, holding a cute red-haired kid in her arms.

"Hey, Mrs Lyons. Is Claire around?"

"Hi Cam. Sure, she's up in her room."

"Thanks, Mrs Lyons." Cam smiled as she let him through the door.

"You should come and babysit for Todd again; he really liked you the last time and he's been asking for ''am!' ever since."

Cam smiled; at least someone in the world appreciated him. "Sure thing, Mrs Lyons. Just give me a call anytime."

"You're such a sweet kid, Cam. I'm so glad that Claire has such a nice guy like you."

Cam's smile faltered for a bit. He turned around and walked up the stairs to Claire's room so she couldn't see her face.

"Thanks. See you around, Mrs Lyons."

Cam thumped his way up the stairs and turned left at the corridor. He took the exact 10 steps needed to get to her room before placing his knuckles on the door, ready to knock. He could hear that annoying Katy Perry song (the one where fireworks come out of her boobs in the video clip. Dude, come on. However unrealistic that was, it was totally hot.) and was tempted to forget about this whole thing.

But he couldn't so all he did was knock the door. He heard Claire turn down the music a notch before shouting "Mum! If that's you, I don't care if you'll pay me; I don't want to babysit Todd for you next week!"

Cam cleared his throat before replying. "It's, um, Cam."

Her response was to turn up the music louder.

Cam sighed before pulling out his phone and tapping a few words onto a new message. He pressed 'send' and a few seconds later, he found himself face to face with Claire.

"I'm sorry. Really." Cam said, giving her his best 'I'm sorry' face before unveiling the bouquet from behind his back. As he did so, he could see Claire softening a little. She stepped aside to let him into her blue-walled room and took the flowers from his hands.

"So."

"So."

Claire looked at Cam expectantly as she placed the flowers into her drinking cup. Cam gave a nervous cough before he spoke up.

"Look, I'm so-"

"I really di-"

They both gave a shy laugh before Cam placed one hand up, motioning her to listen to him.

"I'm really sorry about last night. Alicia needed me; she was held at a police station for goodness sakes, and her Dad's overseas so I had to help her. Nothing happened, I swear."

Claire sniffed at the mention of Alicia's name but she didn't say anything about it.

"And I'm sorry for making such a big scene at school this morning and for calling Alicia names." Claire pouted. She held out her arms and gave Cam a tight hug.

"I missed you," Cam breathed into her hair, inhaling her nice scent. Claire smiled into his chest.

"I missed you too. Just promise me; actually promise me this time, that you won't EVER hang out with Alicia. Don't even contact her. Delete her number off your phone if you must."

Cam stiffened and pulled away from the embrace. "What? You can't do that to me. I have the rights to hang out with anyone!"

Claire's voice went hard. "Look, Cam, she's a really bad influence and bad to your image as well and whatever is bad to your image is bad to MY image. I can't have that if I want to get into Princeton."

Cam mentally rolled his eyes. He was so sick of all this Princeton talk; sometimes he thinks that she's only using him for status and image.

"Look, Cam," her voice softening a little after seeing the look on his face "I love you and I don't ever want to lose you. I know that you love me too and you don't want to do anything to ruin our relationship. So I'm just making one tiny request from you; stay away from Alicia. I admit, I'm jealous of her and I don't want you to be taken away from me."

"You're jealous of Alicia?" Cam scoffed. "Claire, you have nothing to worry about. Alicia is just a friend."

"So are you willing to completely taboo her?"

Cam pursed his lips. "If that's what it takes, I will. Just for you. For us."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Cam said, solemnly.

Claire grinned and gave him a huge kiss. Cam kissed her back with as much force, leading her onto her bed. As he did so, he brought his hands up to her blonde hair and uncrossed his hidden fingers, thinking about the promise he'd made with a certain someone else.

* * *

_**2**_0 minutes later, Cam smoothed out his hair and straightened his shirt before ringing the doorbell of one of the biggest houses he's ever seen. He almost jumped as the ringtone vibrated throughout the whole house.

Not wanting to ring the bell again, he just patiently waited and hoped that someone heard the first one (though goodness knows why anybody would NOT have heard the first one).

A few moments later, he heard a hurried _clickety clack_ of heels on marble floor. The door opened and revealed a casually dressed, but still stunning, brunette.

"Cam! You came! Come in, come in. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Of course I did; wouldn't miss it for the world. And Coke, thanks."

"Sure. I'll be right back; just make yourself comfortable in my room. You know where it is. Oh, and all the applications are laid out already. You can check them out."

"Thanks, Leesh! And sure will."

Cam smiled as he watched Alicia saunter off into the kitchen. He made his way up the stairs, two at a time, before he walked the exact amount of 10 steps to Alicia's room and pushed open the cream door, venturing into the forbidden.

* * *

"_**O**_k, so three applications down, two more to go." Cam said, tossing a large cream envelope aside. He made himself comfortable on the king sized bed, which was now littered with some empty, some half full cans of coke, a huge plastic bowl of leftover popcorn kernels, four bags of chips, lolly wrappers and an apple core. It was half past two in the morning and the deadline for the application forms were due in the post in less than 7 hours.

"Two more to go? I feel like I've been doing a thousand application forms!" Alicia groaned as she flopped face first onto the bed.

"You wish. You've only gotten through three. Now tell me again, why did you leave these until so late?" Cam grumbled good naturedly, taking a swig of coke in the process.

"When I had my profound moment, I didn't exactly know that these application forms were going to be due in the next day." Alicia's voice was muffled by her yellow throw pillows. She then lifted her head in a sudden motion, as if she just had a lightbulb moment.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Cam said, suspiciously, eying her. But all Alicia did was give him a wicked grin before sauntering off into her closet, looking for something. She popped out a moment later, holding an oversized Louis Vuitton handbag in her skinny arms. She flung herself onto the edge of her bed and unzipped the bag, looking for something.

She then stopped rifling and took out her hand to produce-

"No way. No FUCKING way. Where the FUCK did you even get that, anyway?" Cam grabbed the clear plastic ziplock bag from her and held onto it protectively.

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!" Alicia lunged at him and tried to grab it back off him, with no success. He just wriggled away from her, holding the baggie far from her reach.

"Why, Alicia, why? Why are you _doing_ this to yourself?" Cam said angrily, pushing her off him. Alicia was shocked at such a brash motion but didn't say anything when she saw the look on his face. Instead, she just sat back down on the bed and looked away.

"Alicia," Cam said, his voice softening, but still pissed "look at me. Please."

Alicia's point of vision stayed on the floor.

"Please just tell me why you do this."

Alicia lifted her head from the ground, her eyes filled with tears. "It's fucking illegal, that's why. I did it so my father might notice me again. Now I don't care so much anymore but it's just so fucking addictive."

At that moment, Cam's heart broke for her. He shuffled along the bed and gently took hold of Alicia's chin, tilting it towards him. "Alicia, your father might not notice you, but I will; always have, always will. And I will help you through this, you know that."

Alicia couldn't hold it back much longer, so she just let the tears flow. She buried her head in his chest, soaking his shirt. But Cam didn't care, he just held her, stroked her hair, whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

"Alicia, you have to promise me to stop. Or at least get help. What you're doing with your life is good, but if you want to completely turn over a new leaf, you have to stop this too."

"I know, I know. But I don't know if I can." Alicia's muffled sobs vibrated in his chest. He held her tighter, wishing he could stop the tears, stop the pain that's clouding her heart.

"You can; I'm here for you. Always."

"You really mean that?" Alicia looked up at him, her mascara streaked and her flawless cheeks wet with tears. She just looked so vulnerable in the moment, so helpless.

So beautiful.

Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing. Who initiated it, he didn't know but he didn't care; this kiss was everything a kiss should be; the one he had been secretly dreaming of all these years. It felt so wrong, but so right at the same time.

A moment or two passed before Cam's sanity came flying back. He gently pushed her off himself. "No."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Alicia squeaked. Cam just bit his lip and ran his hands though his messy hair. He opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it back up when he couldn't find the words. He then tried again.

"Alicia, I have Claire an-"

"I know. It was my fault and I'm sorry."

Cam sighed. "I think I should go."

"No. NO! I promise it wouldn't happen again! Please, just stay!"

"But what if it does? I can't jeopardise my relationship with Claire, Alicia."

"Please, Cam. Just stay. I really need your help with this."

Cam exhaled loudly before getting off the bed and putting his jacket back on. "No, Alicia. I'm sorry. I just don't think I can do this. I lo-"

But he didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he just picked up his shoes and walked out of the room, leaving Alicia behind, drowning in a pile of papers and misery.

* * *

**ok, so this story is going to be ending in maybe one or two chapters. I have planned it out and everything, but I have not written it but I think you guys are going to hate me for the ending xD BUT I HOPE THIS SUPER LONG CHAPTER WILL (PRE)MAKE UP FOR IT!**

**review if you love stickers!**

**-picturebookgirl **


	9. she'slookingforanantidote

**for all my readers. if i have any (:**

* * *

**chapter 8**

* * *

"_But he didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he just picked up his shoes and walked out of the room, leaving Alicia behind, drowning in a pile of papers and misery."_

_**C**_am wanted to scream when he walked out of the huge house. He wanted to tear out all his hair (he was actually pulling tufts of it out, due to the excessive tugging). He wanted to burn down everything in sight. He wanted to _kick_ anything in sight. He wanted to do all these things because he was so freaking _frustrated_ at himself for leaving her alone in her house. With _drugs_ for God's sakes, at her own disposal.

He was the worst fucking friend in the world.

But he couldn't go back in now. He had made a promise to Claire that he was not going to see Alicia ever again, a promise he had immediately broken. Look where that had led to; he didn't want to risk what just happened to happen again.

So instead, he just took out his anger and frustration onto pavement cracks and stray rocks. He walked all the way home, in the dark, scuffing his shoes into an almost nothing mess of rubber.

_one week_

-x-

_**S**_he threw them all out; every last piece of paper. What was the point of starting new, anyway? The past was always_always_**always** going to catch up to her, no matter how far she tried to run away from them.

-x-

"_**D**_on't forget your lunch money, hon!" Cam's mother called out from the kitchen. Cam grunted indifferently.

He grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and shoved his black converse onto his mismatched sock-clad feet. Not bothering to tie them up, he walked out of the door and into the driveway, where Claire was waiting, looking impatient.

"Hurry up! We're going to be late for school!"

Cam opened the door and slumped into the seat. He closed the door and strapped himself with the seatbelt. He closed his eyes and felt his body being pulled back as Claire drove out of the driveway.

It wasn't until the first red light Claire turned to him, with worry in her eyes. "Cam, talk to me. Please."

"I'm fine. What do you want me to talk about?" Cam said, giving her a lame attempt of a smile. He turned away from her and looked out of the dewy window, tracing random patterns with his finger.

"You've been all mopey for the last week. Don't go all 'nothing is wrong' on me. I'm your girlfriend; I know when something is wrong."

Cam closed his eyes, letting his finger trail on the cool window. What did he want to tell her? That he kissed the girl he was told to never see again? And that he actually enjoyed it? That he might have led her back onto drugs? That he was so fucking helpless?

"I've just been really stressed with finals and football games and everything. I'm just really tired right now, ok? But other than that, I'm fine." Cam smiled, a little more wholeheartedly this time.

Claire knew that that wasn't it; he was hiding something from her. But she had been trying to get it out of him for the last few days and she was just tired of it. She had her own problems too.

"Fine. Whatever you say." The light turned green and she stepped on the gas, moving the car along. "Just remember that I'm here if you need to talk."

Cam didn't say anything to that.

_two weeks_

-x-

_**S**_he called Josh; now there was a guy that knew how to have fun. With him, it was a party every fucking night. The drinks were on him, anyway.

Her father was right. She was completely and utterly worthless.

-x-

"_**C**_am, can I please see you after class?" Mr Myner said, as everybody was packing up their books and papers into their schoolbags.

When everybody had left, Cam walked towards the front of the classroom, his books still not packed in his bag yet. As he reached Mr Myner's desk, he was handed a piece of paper. His history finals paper, to be exact.

"You were one of my top students this year, Cam. This paper did not reflect this in the slightest." He pointed to the large, fat D- at the right corner of the paper. He looked at Cam meaningfully from the top of his half-moon shaped glasses.

Who the fuck cares about fucking history papers when there were people out there killing themselves with drugs and alcohol.

"Sorry."

"All you can give me is a sorry, Cam?" Mr Myner stared at him. When Cam didn't waver, he sighed.

"Cam, I know something is up with you. You stroll into class 15, 20 minutes late, smelling of cigarette smoke. You sit at the back of the classroom and you don't participate in class anymore. You've not even glance, less talk, to that friend of yours, Derrick. What is wrong, Cam? Is it that girl of yours, Claire?"

Cam shut his eyes. He wanted everything to disappear the moment he opened them.

"There is nothing wrong with me. I'm just really tired from finals and football games." He recited, tired.

Mr Myner looked at him for a while longer but eventually gave up. He sighed and began tidying up papers on his desk.

"Ok. If that's what you say. I'll let you go now. Also, since you're one of the best students in this class, I'll give you a re-sit on that paper. Let's say, a week from now?"

"Thanks." Cam said, glad for a second chance but not really caring. He slung his backpack higher up on his shoulder and started to walk out of the classroom.

"Cam?"

Cam stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"If you want to talk to anyone, I'm always here."

Cam just simply turned and walked away. Nobody got him here, not anymore.

_three weeks_

-x-

_**S**_he did that stupid baggie. And more. And more. And more.

Then, everything went dark.

-x-

_**T**_he bell rang for the end of school but Cam's day at school wasn't over yet; he still had that stupid History make up test to do.

He closed his locker door shut, with a bit more force necessary, and trudged down the hallway, with his dark hair hanging over his eyes. He automatically scanned the hallway for Claire or Derrick but he realised that he didn't really care anymore.

As Cam walked down the crowded hallway, he felt his back pocket vibrate. He pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. His heart soared when he saw the number.

"Alicia? Hello?"

"This is not Alicia, but may I ask whom I'm speaking to?"

Cam was puzzled at the unfamiliar voice and feeling slightly uncomfortable. What was this lady doing with Alicia's phone? He walked into an empty classroom, steering away from the din of the crowd.

"This is Cam Fisher. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Anabelle Lee; I am a nurse here at Westchester Hospital. We tried calling her father, but he seemed to not be picking up his phone. Your number was the most dialled number on her phone as well as number 1 on her speed dial so we thought that we should call you."

"Hospital? What's happening? Why are you calling me?" Cam's blood went down to a chill.

"I'm afraid to tell you that Alicia has overdosed. She's on life support right now and is in a very critical condition."

Cam swore that his heart stopped beating. "What?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Cam."

"Oh my God."

Cam dropped the phone, where it bounced and clattered onto the linoleum. He slid onto the floor, his legs not supporting him anymore. He could still hear the nurses' voice over the phone, asking if he was there.

He felt like he wasn't there; he felt as if someone had ripped his heart from his chest and stabbed it a million times in the most painful way possible. He felt as if he couldn't breathe; he was drowning.

With a shaking hand, he picked up the phone and held it to his ear. "I-I'm sorry. I'm going to come down to the hospital right away."

Without even hearing her response, he ended the call and sprinted out of the classroom, knocking into a few desks along the way. He slammed the door open and ran down the hallway, almost knocking into Mr Myner.

"Cam! Where do you think you're going?" Mr Myner grabbed onto his upper arm.

"Please. I can't do this; I have a family emergency. I have to leave. I don't care if you give me a failing grade; this is much more important than any history mark." Cam yanked his arm out of Mr Myner's hands and ran out of the school, not even caring how many detentions he was going to have to serve.

He was lucky; the hospital was just a couple of blocks away from the school and he knew where it was because he passed it every time he went with Claire to go shopping at the Westchester mall for girly shit. He sprinted as fast as he could, knocking over people, shoppers, strollers, anything and everything in his way of Alicia.

Huffing and puffing, he finally reached the tall, white building, bearing the fate of Alicia. He climbed up the mountain of stairs and finally reached the entrance of the hospital reception. The automatic door parted peacefully for him.

"?" Cam nearly screamed at the frightened looking receptionist.

"Ok, slow down."

Cam gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Room number. For Alicia Rivera. Please."

"I'm sorry, but room numbers are confidential and will only be given out to family members.

"I'm her son, ok? Her fucking son!" Cam shouted, waving his arms around and nearly knocking the potted plant off the table.

Either the nurse believed him, which was very unlikely, or she was just scared but she shakily typed something on the computer. "She's in room 573 in Ward A."

Cam sprinted to the elevator, getting in just in time. He bumped the person next to him over and pushed the "Ward A" button continuously.

"The elevator isn't going to go up any faster, you know." The girl next to him commented. He gave her his best death glare and she shut up.

The elevator dinged open and Cam rushed out. He quickly walked down the near desolated hallway and counted down to the room.

"576, 575, 574…"

The door to 573 was closed and the blinds were down. He gingerly knocked on the wooden door.

"Come in." A grainy whisper wafted over the door. Cam opened it and entered the room.

Alicia was on the bed, hooked up to millions of wires and machines. She looked so weak and pale, her usually thick, raven hair now limp and mousy brown. There were dark bags under her eyes and it looked like she was breathing laboriously.

But to Cam, she still looked like the most beautiful girl in the world.

"Cam. What are you doing here? How did you even get in here?" Alicia coughed.

"I'm your son, remember?" Cam went over to the bed and took Alicia's hand. It was so delicate, so pale against his tanned, calloused ones.

"Alicia. I thought-"

"I couldn't do it. You-you left me. You were my anchor and you left me. What was I supposed to do when the only thing holding me down is gone?"

"But you're strong enough to do this. I know you're strong enough without me."

"Well, obviously not." Alicia replied with a raspy laugh. It turned into a strangled coughing fit.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine." Alicia snapped, gulping down some water. She closed her eyes. Cam watched her, still holding her hand, not wanting to say anything.

After a while, Alicia spoke up. "Maybe I'm supposed to be a fuck up. Everybody has a destiny, a calling in life and maybe this is mine."

"You're more than a fuck up, Alicia. Nobody is destined to be a fuck up. You're an amazing girl with so many talents that you could put to use, but you just need to see it."

Alicia's eyes flew open. "Cam. Stop believing in me. If you do, I'll just break your heart."

Cam shook his head, realising something. "You already have."

He leaned in and kissed her. They stayed like that, their bodies in a tangle, the thin blanket occasionally getting in the way of the beautiful mess. The good guy and the bad girl. The perfect contradiction.

Eventually, Alicia had to get some air. "Cam, I'm leaving. I-I'm going to go to rehab or some shit like that; hopefully this will make me better. I won't be out for quite a while."

"I'm come and visit you. Every weekend or something!" Cam said, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead.

"It's in California."

"Why so far?"

"I just need to get away from everything for a while."

Cam gently let go of her head, a sad look on his face. One glance and Alicia wanted to cry; she wanted to take back the words she just said and say that she wanted to be with him forever, to be in his arms. But she couldn't because she knew that she was a bad influenced on him, she needed to be as far away from him as possible. She couldn't force her fucked up life on him.

"Alicia…"

She let go of his hand and covered the blanket over her body. She turned away so she was facing the window instead of him. "I think you should go. Visiting hours is nearly over, anyway."

"Leesh…"

"Just go. Please." Her voice was cold and thick.

Cam didn't know what to do but he didn't want to leave just yet. So he just sat there, hoping that she would change her mind.

"Cam. How many times do I have to ask you to go." Alicia was still facing the window.

"Is that what you want?"

There was an impregnated pause. "Yes."

Cam abruptly stood up and left, nearly slamming the door behind him. He didn't know what else to do. His was in a whirlpool of emotions and he was drowning.

Alicia winced at the sound of the door. At this point she couldn't contain the tears anymore; she was crying like she'd never cried before.

The only good thing in her life had left and she was the one that had caused it to do so.

* * *

**Ok, so this was SUPPOSED to be the last chapter, but I think that it kind of went astray so unless you want a sad, unfinished ending, it's not the last chapter xD So yeah. School has started and I've been having a horrific week so please, cheer me up by reviewing? (:**

**Oh, and also, please vote for this story (and my other nominated stories) on the 'Unofficially Official Clique Fanfic Awards' which you can conveniently find in the Clique forums (:**

**-picturebookgirl**


	10. promisetoneverletgo

**chapter 9**

* * *

"_The only good thing in her life had left and she was the one that had caused it to do so."_

**-1 year later-**

_**C**_am _**F**_isher tossed his head back and laughed, a sound that had slowly begun revived once more. The girl in his arms looked up at him and grinned, happy to have made him laugh.

"So. What should we do today, on this beautiful autumn's day?" He asked, smiling down on her as they stroll, arms linked, around the beautiful Princeton campus.

"Oh, I don't mind. Why don't we just walk around campus, since it's such a nice day?"

Cam smiled. "Sure, whatever you want."

Cam held the girl tighter as they walked down the promenade, leaf scatterings covering their path. He scanned the surroundings, taking in as much beauty as he could. As his eyes wondered the vicinity of the walkway, a flash of raven hair caught his green orb.

He squinted to make sure that it was really what he was seeing. It turned around and he knew that he was right.

"Alicia?"

Alicia turned around, her hair whipping her slim shoulders with ease. She saw him and started running towards him as quickly as her heeled boots would carry her.

The two collided, a beautiful mashup of arms and legs and unsaid emotions. They hugged, not letting the other go.

Eventually, Cam pulled away from the embrace and looked at her. Her brown eyes had changed; they were now softer, more serene. Less wild. But they were still as beautiful as ever.

"Looking good, Fisher! You certainly fit in with these rich asses with that fancy sweater vest of yours."

"Hey! Don't mouth off now!" He cried playfully, swatting her shoulder. They looked at each other, grinning madly, their eyes not ready to let go. A tiny, agitated cough brought them back to reality.

"Oh! Alicia, this is Massie Block, my girlfriend. Massie, this is Alicia, my best and eldest friend on the planet."

Massie smiled curtly. "Nice to meet you, Ashleigh."

"Thanks. You too." Alicia's smile faltered, silently thinking why Cam always had to have the bitchiest girlfriends. The three stood in an awkward silence.

"Is it o-"

"Do yo-"

"Can we-"

Cam cleared his throat. "Go on, Mass."

"I see that you two have a lot of catching up to do, in private. So, uh, I'll just go and get a coffee with Skye or something." Massie said, almost but not quiet grudgingly.

Cam smiled at her again. "Thanks, Massie. You're still up for dinner tonight, right?"

Massie nodded. She smiled up at him and gave him a quick but showy kiss on the lips. "See you later, love."

She walked away, leaving the two alone with each other.

"So. How's Princeton, huh?" Alicia snuggled her gloved hands in the pockets of the red trench coat as they started walking to no particular destination.

Cam shrugged. "It's good. Classes are a lot of work but everything is also really interesting."

"That's good." Alicia nodded.

They walked in silence for a while, their shoulders touching. Alicia then spoke up. "You know, you can ask me about rehab."

Cam didn't say anything but Alicia knew that it meant for her to go on.

"It was good for me. A kick in the backside. I'm 238 days sober now, and I've been released for a week. Now I think about it, I'm kinda glad that I ODed."

Cam was silent, listening.

"But I wished you'd visited me."

Cam coughed uncomfortably. "You were the one that told me not to, remember? Besides, it was all the way in Florida and there was no way I could have visited you with finals, grad, college, te-"

"Don't lie to me. I know that you went down to Florida with your parents just before you started Princeton."

"I… But you told me that I should stay away from you." Cam finished lamely.

But he knew that although that was true, there was something else that stopped him from visiting her, as much as he wanted to.

They kept walking, their shoulders not quite touching anymore. It was about 7 trees later before Cam spoke up. "I was trying to get over you, ok?"

"Cam…" Alicia started.

"I know."

"No. You don't." She stopped and turned around, so she was facing him. Not knowing she was going to do that, Cam collided into her nearly knocking her onto the ground but grabbing her by the shoulders before she could.

"I'm sorry." He apologised, steadying her.

"Cam, you know that I love you. We both know it. But look at your life and look at mine. I will never belong in this world of yours and I don't want to drag you down to mine. I'm just getting started on the road to recovery and if I was to be with you, I'll just slow you down from your pathway. You're going way too fast for me; I can't keep up and you can't slow down. And I don't want you to, not for me."

Cam knew that one day that this was going to come, that they were going to acknowledge it out in the open. But knowing didn't make the truth hurt less and he, once again, felt his heart being ripped from his chest and being stomped on with the pointiest of all stiletto heels.

"I'm sorry. But I know that if I don't do this, we'll both regret it." She whispered.

The two of them stood in the middle of the mishmash, the world revolving, moving, laughing, spinning around them. He stared at her, knowing that everything he'd every wanted was now slipping away from his grasp. So in a last desperate effort to preserve it, he cupped her face and kissed her soft lips for the last time.

She let him kiss her, knowing that he needed the outlet. She almost wanted to kiss him fully back, but she knew that if she gave into the temptation, she was going to lose it. Lose him. Lose it all.

Alicia pulled away, tears forming in her eyes. Cam realised that he was crying to as he felt something wet slide down his cheek.

"Maybe you can come to Princeton to. You can come live on campus with me; your Dad has money and connections, right? We could live together and I could break up with Massie and you can get a major in English literature or something because you've alwa-"

"Cam. CAM." Alicia shook her head, as tears flowed freely now. She wrapped his arms around her body and pressed her head against his chest. "Princeton? I dropped out of high school as a sophomore, Cam. I think getting into Princeton, no matter how rich my Dad is, is next to impossible."

It was a while before he spoke up. "It was just a wishful thought."

They vowed to keep in touch, knowing that there was only a slim possibility that they would actually do so. As they were so wrapped up in the nows and they wouldn't know that Cam would end up marrying Massie's friend, Skye, and Alicia would be the best woman at his wedding. Skye and Cam would have two beautiful children, one of them named Aleisha. Alicia would end up being completely sober and go to a community college, where she got a degree in teaching and communications and worked at a local rehab centre for troubled teens. She would eventually reignite her relationship with her father and who would have Josh Hotz fired from his firm with possession of Class B drugs. The two would be happy, and although not with each other, but with the other always in the back of their minds.

As the leaves fell around them, he pressed her tighter into him, not wanting to let go for he did not know what the future will bring them. He didn't want to lose her, not again and he knew that she felt the same. His tears soiled her raven hair, thick and luscious, nothing like what it was like the last time he saw her. Autumn was the time where the old was shed so he knew that this was the best time to let her go.

But he didn't want that just yet. He held onto her fragile body, like a near broken branch holding onto a shedding leaf on the verge of snapping off. In a moment, he knew that she was going to let go, the leaf was going to snap off and fall onto the ground.

So Cam Fisher shut off everything else in his mind and closed his eyes. They just stayed silent and lived in this moment, in their breaking embrace, not knowing if anything was going to be ok but not caring because at that moment, they were still together.

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_.fin._

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**I FINISHED, GUYS, I FINISHED! I'm going to miss this story so much;; it was probably my favourite story to write because it was just so… emotional. I don't know. But as much as I'm going to miss it, I'm glad that it's over. Oh my.**

**Well, THANK YOU to all that have read/reviewed/put up with me and this story! Thank you for *all* the feedback and reviews and comments and yeaaaaaah ((: Also, especially to lisa and tash, who have pretty much reviewed every chapter. ILOVEYOUBOTH!**

**So. Until next time?**

**-picturebookgirl.**


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